Products to be dispensed, such as consumer products, are generally contained in a variety of packages. Some are dispensed from squeeze bottles, containers bearing pumps or other product propelling mechanisms. A number of different type of nozzle arrangements are employed with the bottles for various purposes such as protection of the product and protection against damage during shipping, storage and use. Often the type of nozzle employed is dependent upon the material being dispensed in regard to whether the material is viscous in nature or watery and whether the product is to be dispensed in a ribbon-like form of as a stream or spray.
Examples of different types of nozzles which have been found satisfactory for a number of the above purposes include those disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,030 and my pending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 510,580 filed Sept. 30, 1974 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,765 granted July 6, 1976.
One particular area which deserves consideration is in dealing with the dispensing of relatively viscous materials in ribbon form such as lotion or ketchup whether it be dispensed from a squeeze type container or another type of pump mechanism through the nozzle. Occasionally when nozzles are utilized which have discharge paths which are open to atmosphere during non-use periods, the viscous type of material lodged in the exposed passageways will dry out and clog the passageways rendering further dispensing difficult if not impossible. Additionally, it is clearly not aesthetic and could be detrimental to the material or the user to have the initial portion of the viscous material being dispensed in a dried out form.